LONGMONT -- When it came to fracking, the D's and the R's didn't seem to matter that much.

A Longmont ballot issue that succeeded in banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, from the city caught hold in both Republican- and Democratic-leaning precincts, according to maps released last week by the Boulder County Clerk's Office. Only five precincts in the city voted against Ballot Question 300; of those, three also backed Mitt Romney in the presidential race while two supported incumbent Barack Obama.

"The data, a.k.a the people, speaks for itself," said Michael Bellmont of Our Health, Our Future, Our Longmont, the group that got the ban onto the ballot. "They do not want a dangerous industry like fracking next to their homes and schools and reservoirs."

Looked at it a different way, about 63 percent of Romney precincts in Longmont voted for the ban, compared to about 96 percent of Obama precincts -- a gap that may be exaggerated since there were so many fewer Romney precincts to start with.

Hydraulic fracturing uses high-pressure fluid to crack open oil and gas deposits deep below the earth's surface. During the election, the ban's supporters said the practice was environmentally risky and didn't belong near homes; opponents said the risks had been overstated and that Longmont was certain to be sued by the state, the industry, or mineral rights holders.

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Two of the precincts were in western Longmont -- 638 and 639 -- while another, the 635th, was a short distance away on the east side of Hover Street. The 648th Precinct in northern Longmont and the 604th in the southeast rounded out the list.

Of those, the 638th Precinct may have been the most conservative in the 2012 election. It was the only precinct in town to go five-for-five on the issues reported by the county, voting for Romney, against the fracking ban, against the legalization of marijuana, for Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, and for Republican state Senate candidate Charles Plagainos.

Legalizing marijuana had a little more partisan traction in Longmont, but not much. Of Longmont's 55 precincts, only seven had a majority against the measure; of those, four backed Romney and three backed Obama. Opposition tracked a little more closely with support for Gardner or Plagainos; each of the two candidates won six Longmont precincts, four of which voted against legalizing the drug.

Outside of town, precincts 506 and 507 -- roughly the Niwot area -- also voted against the measure, as did the 707th precinct northwest of Longmont. The 407th Precinct, south of the city, was tied on the measure.

All four of those out-of-town precincts were also Romney supporters.

All the results are based on the unofficial county results; official results are expected to be released this week.

It's not unheard of for an issue to catch a groundswell in Longmont and cross party lines. In 2011, a ballot issue allowing the city to provide services through its fiber-optic loop passed with nearly 60 percent of the vote, a margin comparable to Ballot Question 300 this year. A 2011 statistical analysis by political science professor Kenneth Bickers of the University of Colorado at Boulder found that even when allowing for an area's partisan leanings, the fiber-optic question still had strong support.

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